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Light at Evening Time

By R. J. Rushdoony
February 28, 2011

One of the more moving verses of the Bible is Zechariah 14:7: "But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light."

Evening time means the coming of darkness. Zechariah says, however, that God reverses this process and can bring and does manifest light at evening time. The natural order is reversed. Light at evening time is a miracle.

What we are told is that this world and history do not follow the government of nature but of God, the Creator and Lord of all things. When the lights go out all over the world, when history seems headed only into a dead end and total disaster, God brings forth light. He changes the direction of history and regenerates men and redirects events and institutions to fulfill His purposes.

Darkness ahead? Of course. Daily, men and nations by their sins bring on a great darkness. All around us, the problems abound and increase. Men grow pessimistic about the future, and with good reason.

It is precisely in such a darkening evening time that again and again in history, God the Lord has brought forth light. Man's sin is a grim and ugly fact: it dirties history and darkens every age, and ours is more than a little clouded by its blight.

The great and ruling fact, however, is not sin but the Lord. Christ is Lord and King over all things, including sin, death, and darkness. At our evening time, He can bring forth light.

For this reason, Paul summons us always to rejoice and in everything to give thanks (Phil. 4:4, 6), because our God is He who makes all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28), and, at evening time, brings forth light.


Topics: Minor Prophets

R. J. Rushdoony

Rev. R.J. Rushdoony (1916–2001), was a leading theologian, church/state expert, and author of numerous works on the application of Biblical law to society. He started the Chalcedon Foundation in 1965. His Institutes of Biblical Law (1973) began the contemporary theonomy movement which posits the validity of Biblical law as God’s standard of obedience for all. He therefore saw God’s law as the basis of the modern Christian response to the cultural decline, one he attributed to the church’s false view of God’s law being opposed to His grace. This broad Christian response he described as “Christian Reconstruction.” He is credited with igniting the modern Christian school and homeschooling movements in the mid to late 20th century. He also traveled extensively lecturing and serving as an expert witness in numerous court cases regarding religious liberty. Many ministry and educational efforts that continue today, took their philosophical and Biblical roots from his lectures and books.

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